Mahabharata — Drona Parva, Shloka 153

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda

Arrow-storm Engagement

Devanagari script

त्रिपुरघ्नरथो यद्वद्‌ गोवृषेण विराजता । पाण्डवोंके आचार्य

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | tripuraghnaratho yadvad govṛṣeṇa virājatā |

Translation

三阇耶说道：正如灭三城者（湿婆）的战车因华美的公牛徽记而熠熠生辉，般度诸子的师长、苦行的婆罗门、出自乔多摩族系的克利帕阿阇梨之巨大战车亦同样庄严；其旗帜上刻有一头俊美公牛之印，使战车更添光彩。

Word by Word

• त्रिपुरघ्नरथः: the chariot of the slayer of Tripura (Śiva)
• त्रिपुरघ्नरथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिपुरघ्न-रथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यद्वत्: just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यद्वत्

• गोवृषेण: by/with the bull (emblem) associated with a cow/bull
• गोवृषेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो-वृष
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• विराजता: shines, is resplendent
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-राज्
• Form: Present, Third, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Kripacharya (Kṛpācārya)
• Pandavas (Pāṇḍavāḥ)
• Gautama gotra
• Shiva (Mahadeva, Tripuraghna)
• Tripura
• Chariot (ratha)
• Banner/standard (dhvaja)
• Bull emblem (vṛṣabha-cihna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames battlefield description through dharmic and devotional imagery: a warrior-teacher’s martial splendor is legitimized by symbols of austerity and divine association (the bull emblem linked with Śiva), suggesting that power is ideally aligned with restraint, lineage-dharma, and sacred order rather than mere violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Kṛpācārya’s imposing chariot and its banner bearing a bull emblem, saying it shone brilliantly—comparable to Śiva’s chariot adorned with a bull-mark—thereby highlighting Kripa’s prominence and the awe his presence inspires in the ongoing war.